UPS won't insure spouses of many employees

Partly blaming the health law, United Parcel Service is set to remove thousands of spouses from its medical plan because they are eligible for coverage elsewhere.

Many analysts downplay the Affordable Care Act's effect on companies such as UPS, noting that the move is part of a long-term trend of shrinking corporate medical benefits. But the shipping giant repeatedly cites the act to explain the decision, adding fuel to the debate over whether it erodes traditional employer coverage.

Rising medical costs, "combined with the costs associated with the Affordable Care Act, have made it increasingly difficult to continue providing the same level of health care benefits to our employees at an affordable cost," UPS said in a memo to employees.

This is hitting the management and all of the non-union administrative and technical folks. There were well over 1000 angry comments when the news was posted on UPSers a couple of months ago. In addition to the working spouse exclusion, all tobacco users are being charged an extra $150/month for insurance.

I noticed they used the "white collar" phrase also. Why not just say non-contractual employees or salaried employees.

Click to expand...

Yes... white collar employees are their management people. I love how UPS blames the Affordable care Act when it has been reported that health care costs for large corporations have gone down by 4% this year as compared to last year because of this law. For a company that makes $4 to $5+ billion a year in clean profit, $60 million is nothing for taking care of your employees. I am a driver and I think it's awful what this company does to their managers.

Do the Higher Ranks of management give a damn about the furue of UPS ? I have been worried for years about the future of the company due to the (low and getting lower) standards of the part time employees that are hired ,and now this will push many bright talented Management to other companies,and will damned sure be yet another reason for many hourly having ZERO interest in being promoted.
I'm not the smartest person here but I 'm fairly certain we need great people in both Hourly and Management ranks to sustain a successful company. What am I missing????

Do the Higher Ranks of management give a damn about the furue of UPS ? I have been worried for years about the future of the company due to the (low and getting lower) standards of the part time employees that are hired ,and now this will push many bright talented Management to other companies,and will damned sure be yet another reason for many hourly having ZERO interest in being promoted.
I'm not the smartest person here but I 'm fairly certain we need great people in both Hourly and Management ranks to sustain a successful company. What am I missing????

Click to expand...

UPS management tends to see employees as a head count and that all are interchangeable.
It was incredibly frustrating because you knew when a decision was made to move a person it was going to hurt.
This was realized and now people are left in their positions longer except there are a few dinosaurs that think everyone has to be moved on a periodic basis.
When you pay people less, you get less motivated people. The key is to let them stay in their position longer.
Honestly, you don't need talented people at UPS except in a small percentage of positions.
​It's really pretty damn simple what we do. The key is execution and cost control.

UPS management tends to see employees as a head count and that all are interchangeable.
It was incredibly frustrating because you knew when a decision was made to move a person it was going to hurt.
This was realized and now people are left in their positions longer except there are a few dinosaurs that think everyone has to be moved on a periodic basis.
When you pay people less, you get less motivated people. The key is to let them stay in their position longer.
Honestly, you don't need talented people at UPS except in a small percentage of positions.
​It's really pretty damn simple what we do. The key is execution and cost control.

Click to expand...

While it may not take rocket science to do some of this stuff, it does take motivation because it is physically and emotionally draining. That is where pay and benefits come in. This is a bad move on the company's part.

While it may not take rocket science to do some of this stuff, it does take motivation because it is physically and emotionally draining. That is where pay and benefits come in. This is a bad move on the company's part.

Click to expand...

You do realize I was talking about management positions?
​Specifically operations at the district level.

Do the Higher Ranks of management give a damn about the furue of UPS ? I have been worried for years about the future of the company due to the (low and getting lower) standards of the part time employees that are hired ,and now this will push many bright talented Management to other companies,and will damned sure be yet another reason for many hourly having ZERO interest in being promoted.
I'm not the smartest person here but I 'm fairly certain we need great people in both Hourly and Management ranks to sustain a successful company. What am I missing????

Click to expand...

I have this part time co-worker who always complains when he sees a flat screen Sony tv that he feels like to steal it and take it home with him. Seriously? This guy is 22 yrs old and has no ambition in life, he doesnt care about anything but getting a quick $90 a week to get his drugs and his food. He doesn't care whether management sends him home when he hasn't done his guarantee or tell him to take the day off. Where does UPS find these people? Even the security guards; roughly 85% of them can barely speak English. The future of UPS truly isn't looking too good. On the bright side, this gives me the opportunity to go full timer quicker.

UPS management tends to see employees as a head count and that all are interchangeable.
It was incredibly frustrating because you knew when a decision was made to move a person it was going to hurt.
This was realized and now people are left in their positions longer except there are a few dinosaurs that think everyone has to be moved on a periodic basis.
When you pay people less, you get less motivated people. The key is to let them stay in their position longer.
Honestly, you don't need talented people at UPS except in a small percentage of positions.
​It's really pretty damn simple what we do. The key is execution and cost control.

Click to expand...

I see your point ,but where will UPS get the Leadership for the next 100 years? to paraphrase Jim Casey" If a company stops growing it will begin dying' .I can see the beginning of this now as emphasis is placed on Production and Cost instead of Service.
We are getting Orion at the first of the year and I simply do not see my customers (many who depend on what I deliver for their livelihood) to have a warm fuzzy feeling from getting their packages at 1600 when they need them at 100. I have my doubts that they will be sympathetic to the plan of reducing miles

It affects all of us non union dedicated drivers. It is mostly to blame on the new health care laws, how ever ups would not lose any money if the continued coverage. It would allow my wife to have better coverage as her insurance is far more inferior to ours and is why she is currently on my plan. It will soon apply to union employees as well, it will not be a strong issue for the union to continue to fight for once the next contract comes around. We should all fear this new health care law. It will eventually leave us all with paying more out of pocket expense with our current healthcare providers.

It affects all of us non union dedicated drivers. It is mostly to blame on the new health care laws, how ever ups would not lose any money if the continued coverage. It would allow my wife to have better coverage as her insurance is far more inferior to ours and is why she is currently on my plan. It will soon apply to union employees as well, it will not be a strong issue for the union to continue to fight for once the next contract comes around. We should all fear this new health care law. It will eventually leave us all with paying more out of pocket expense with our current healthcare providers.